As a filmmaker and screenwriter, I've devoted most of my last
three years writing a history book on the American Revolution,
entitled ,
which I hope to bring to the screen someday in the form of
a miniseries (think John Adams meets Band
of Brothers). The book is completed, and I now have a literary
agent, but I still need a publisher. Publishers are risk
adverse, and want to see a sure thing. As I am an unknown,
they
fear I have no "platform",
and thus I need to build my own audience. Help me build
that audience! I
need your support! With your help, we can bring 1775 to
print, and eventually to the screen!
— Derek W Beck, May 10, 2011

One of my tools for production is a dolly and track system
I built from scratch. The design was inspired by a design by Hollywood Cinematographer
and Director Ron
Dexter.

A dolly holds a tripod and either runs on the floor or runs on
track. The track dolly has the advantage of all-terrain use. A non-track
dolly needs very smooth ground to insure vibrations aren't introduced into
the camera's
image (camera instability). By using a track, you can create a smooth running
surface, such as in a gravel road, thereby allowing the filmmaker to accomplish
nice tracking shots in all terrain.

Another flaw of many commercial dollies, such as the popular D-10 model shown here by Velbon, is that they use casters as wheels.
This means that if you wish to do a track to the left, followed by a track
to the right, the wheels usually catch as the change direction. Anyone that's
ever used a grocery store's shopping cart and moved it forward and then backward
knows what this issue is.

The next sections will describe how I constructed my
track and dolly system. If you choose to build any thing you have seen on this
site, be sure to take all necessary safety precautions including the use of
safety glasses.